Aga shook his head, his arms braced on his hips in a disapproving manner. “That's enough for today, little bug. You will have plenty of time tomorrow for more squashing.”
Ouch.
Patty’s shoulders stiffened, and she raised her chin in defiance. It didn’t bode well for Aga. As strong as he may be, Patty was a survivor, and a devious one at that. While I didn’t want her coming down to the planet with us this time, it didn’t mean that with proper training and some armor, I wouldn’t want her on my team in the future. He’d better sleep with one eye open for the foreseeable future.
I suppressed a flinch when she whirled around and pinned me in place with a hard stare. She held my gaze for a long moment before she sighed and her shoulders dropped in defeat. “I can’t go with you can I?”
I shook my head. Patty closed her eyes, swallowing hard before opening them again. She sniffed and lurched forward, wrapping her arms around my waist.
She squeezed me as hard as she could and I wrapped my arms around her, hunching my body around her. “What if you die down there, Jack? What am I going to do without you?”
I tightened my hold on her. “I will not die, Patty. Ohem would never allow it and I’m hard to kill. I’ll be fine.”
Sam placed her hand on my bicep. “And if she gets hurt, I’ll be here to help put her back together.” .
Callie came and slung her arm around Sam’s shoulders and grinned at Patty within the circle of my arms. “I’ll be here to lecture the Amazon on being a dumbass, and back you up for the ass whooping she would deserve for being careless enough to get hurt.”
Patty sniffled, stepping away from me. I let her go and straightened, grateful for the girls’ support. I’d been dreading this conversation, expecting a blow up fight from Patty. I should have had a little more faith in her. She wasn’t stupid.
“See? Nothing to worry about. I’ll be fine. Aga is going down with us and he’s like our own personal walking tank. I have no worries. Ohem will be there to watch my back,” I said and shrugged. “We don't even know if there is going to be anyone there. Reports say they left. We could get there and find absolutely nothing.”
Patty gave me a skeptical look before she nodded to herself and turned to face Aga.“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Aga showed his teeth in a smile and left the training room.
Rema approached from where he’d been standing off to the side while we’d had our moment and flared his wings a little. “I will have Izari monitoring our links while we are on the planet’s surface. You are welcome to watch the feed on the bridge if it would give you peace of mind.”
If women could melt into puddles of emotional goo, they’d be scooping us up with a bucket.
Patty stared at him for a long moment before she sprang at him, slamming her body into Rema’s, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. The male’s wings flared wide in surprise and he took a step back before a small smile tipped the corner of his mouth and he hesitantly wrapped his four arms around her, blushing the whole time.
He looked up and caught my eye; I grinned at him and wagged my eyebrows. His smile turned into a grin and he hugged Patty tighter to him, earning a sigh from the small woman. Callie came and slipped her arm around my waist. I rested mine across her shoulders and Sam hugged my other arm. We watched Rema look down at the top of Patty’s head in wonder.
“Have you finished teaching your lesson in futility, then?” Ohem’s voice sounded from behind us and everyone jumped and shouted in alarm, even Rema. The male had clutched Patty to him, putting his body between her and the perceived threat. Ohem could sneak up on anyone, it would seem. Even men who’d served with him for years.
Bells. He needed bells.
I untangled myself from Callie and Sam to turn my glare on my mate. He was leaning against the door jamb, looking pleased with himself.
“Shit, Ohem. Make noise when you walk!” Patty scolded. Ohem’s deep chuckle was his only answer. He came to stand before me and I crossed my arms, tilting my head back to stare at him expectantly.
He cocked his head at me and gestured to the large mat in the middle of the room. “Would you care to spar with me,ursang?”
Excitement slicked down my spine and I grinned at him, bouncing on my toes a few times.
Hell yeah, I wanted to spar with him! I turned my head and looked over my shoulder at the girls and Rema. “Y’all wanna take bets?”
Patty cackled and rubbed her hands together. “I am so recording this and starting the alien version of TikTok. Make me famous, Jack.”
I turned back to Ohem and wagged my eyebrows. “What do I get if I win?”
Ohem shook his head and reached out to cup my chin in his palm. He leaned in close to my face until we almost touched.
“Win, Rijitera?” he purred.
I growled at him, shoving his chest with both hands. Ohem laughed and sauntered over to the mat, turning to cock his head at me in a silent challenge.
A sly smile stretched across my face as I pulled my shirt over my head, followed by my bra. Ohem’s low growl made me snicker as I chucked my shoes and pulled my pants off. I added an extra swing to my hips while I walked to my mate and took my place in front of him on the mat.
